“More than just a good teacher”
Changed by Jesus #43
By Allie Snell, Ballard campus
Qualified for Heaven?
At age 18 I was in the most dangerous period of my life: religious complacency. I thought I knew who Jesus was, falsely establishing him as one of the many great teachers sent from God with a long list of insufferably arduous rules to thereby merit entrance into heaven. I certainly was not going to win a V.I.P. pass, but I was convinced that I would at least ride business class.
In the fall of 2006 I enrolled at a local Christian university, completely indifferent to their religious beliefs. I did not have any time or interest in learning about the true Christ Jesus because I was diverting all of my efforts into ignoring how miserable I had become as a self-righteous, arrogant, self-esteemed, people-pleasing, abused woman. I could not let those adjectives go; they were my identity.
Guilt to Glory
Despite my resistance, however, the overwhelming guilt to attend church consumed me, compounded by my irrational fear that nonattendance would make God smite me—clearly I entertained false images of God. The closest church was Mars Hill at Ballard, so I begrudgingly walked into the warehouse-turned-church.
Sometimes God has to shove the elect towards their predestination, and I am a case-in-point. By the grace of God, I became a believer in Jesus just five weeks after I started attending Mars Hill. I could not deny the overwhelming evidence, as presented by Pastor Mark in the Vintage Jesus series and fleshed out by Scripture (pun intended), that Jesus was more than just a good teacher.
When I contemplate the vast and immeasurable distance between my pre- and post-Cross identities, I am utterly amazed by the power of Jesus’ redeeming love. I still can hardly believe that he chose to justify me. He took all of the defilement in my life and redeemed it into a story for his glory.
New Purpose
Jesus has ended generational sin of alcohol abuse. Jesus has removed the shame of sexual abuse. Jesus humbles me from arrogance and pride. Jesus became the purpose for my life. He is my Great Rescuer, Ceaseless Pursuer, Beautiful Redeemer, Courageous Hero, Gracious Propitiator, and Eternal King.
What’s Your Story?
